Page 19 of The Serpent's Bride
But like all humans, she fell to his hypnotic gifts with only a moment’s worth of struggle. She had put up a fairly good fight, which was surprising—most humans collapsed like a house of cards in a breeze—but soon enough, she was in his palm.
The rest of the dinner after that went along peacefully. They barely spoke. She knew well enough to not prattle and fill the air with vapid nonsense, and only responded to him when he prompted her first. Instead, her inquisitive, spring-green eyes were taking in every detail around her as if memorizing them all.
Three very interesting things had come out of their dinner that left him pondering what his next step should be.
First—he wanted her. Very badly and in a way he hadn’t experienced incenturies.
Two—she had the bravery to sip his bloodwine and barely flinched. It was vile to humans, but she took it in stride. She clearly had more of a backbone than he had imagined.
And three—she had no clue about the truth of his “line of work.” That was the most intriguing part of all of this. Had her father really not told her? Or had she written it all off as rumor and slander?
She was about to become the wife of one of the most feared crime lords on all of Runne. He wondered how she would deal with that knowledge. Part of him was suddenly deeply interested in finding out.
One of his men approached from inside his home. “Sir?”
“What?” Raziel hated interruptions.
The man shifted nervously. “Your sister wants to speak to you.”
“Tell her I’ll call her back.” He rolled his eyes.
“No, um—she’s downstairs.” The man took a step back, flinching away from expected rage. And for good reason.
Raziel’s instinct was to hurl the messenger from the balcony. But he bit all that back down and let out a long, weary sigh. Somethings couldn’t be avoided. And Lana was definitely on that list. Forcing a mocking smile onto his face, he turned to Monica, who was watching the exchange curiously.
He knew why Lana was there. His meddling sister very likely wanted to greet the fresh meat for herself before Raziel broke her into tiny pieces. Which was fair. Standing, he gestured for her to follow. He didn’t offer her a hand up.
“I’d hoped to spare you this until closer to the wedding, but Lana waits for no one. Come, my dear…time to throw you into the fire.”
SIX
Whatever Nadi had been expecting from Lana, this wasn’t it.
Now, she knew a lot about Raziel’s sister—the so-called “Sweetheart Mistress”—since the vampire was solidly near the top of Nadi’s must-kill list. Nadi had even been in the same space as her a few times, watching and learning all she could about the blonde’s mannerisms and habits.
But it was a different thing entirely when she was up close, personal,and being frantically hugged by her.
Nadi laughed quietly, nervously, as Lana threw her arms around her and squeezed her tight like she was a raft in a storm at sea.
“My new sister-in-law!” Lana squealed, laughing far more cheerfully than Nadi. “Well, soon-to-be, anyway. Hello, hello, hello! You must be Monica. So wonderful to meet you—I amLana,but I’m certain you already knew that—and moons bedamned!”Lana took a step back, holding onto Nadi’s upper arms, scanning her up and down in appreciation. “You lucked out, brother dearest! Look ather!”
Raziel walked over to one of the square-armed sofas in one of his many living rooms—or maybe this was a parlor. Rich people had fun names for their excess spaces. He lay down onit, grunted, and slung an arm over his eyes without responding, looking for all the world like he had a sudden insufferable headache.
He probably did.
“Thanks.” Nadi kept a smile on her face, though she was fighting the urge to shove away from Lana and put some distance between them. It was easy to forget, in the face of the vampire’s bright smile, exactly what Lana was infamous for.
The Nostroms, the most powerful sect of vampires in Runne, traded ineverything.Drugs, guns, stolen goods, influence. Lana?
Her expertise was flesh.
“Pleasure to meet you.” Nadi tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear.
“The pleasure’s all mine, trust me.” Lana chuckled and walked away from her, heading straight for the bar by the wall. “Brother, when you get bored of her—do let me know.”
I’d rather stab out my eyes, thanks.Nadi kept her hands from balling into fists. Instead, she walked over to a chair and sat, purposefully avoiding the furniture that could fit two people on it. “Do you have a hand in the family business? Raziel told me he’s in shipping and…What was it?”
“Receiving.”
